French Far Right Party to Sue Madonna over Swastika

Marine Le Pen’s far right National Front party is suing Madonna for superimposing a swastika on her face in a concert in Paris.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

First Publish: 7/16/2012, 10:39 AM

Madonna in Paris Saturday night

Reuters

Marine Le Pen’s far right National Front party is suing singer Madonna for superimposing a swastika on an image of Le Pen's face in a concert in Paris Saturday evening, as she did in Israel earlier this year.

The performance in Tel Aviv sparked anger for exploiting the swastika, a symbol which is outlawed in Germany.

Madonna’s concert featured the song "Nobody Knows Me,” with a collage of faces alternating with hers. One of them was that of Le Pen, with the swastika on her forehead and followed by an image of Hitler.

After the swastika imagery in Tel Aviv, Le Pen said: "If she tries that in France, we'll see what happens. It's understandable when aging singers who need publicity go to such extremes."

National Front vice president Florian Philippot said that the imagery was “unacceptable” in trying to link the party with Nazism. Philippot added that the “provocation” was a "very serious insult" and that Madonna was "trying to get more people to her concerts.” She is scheduled to perform in Nice next month.

The National Party often has been accused of being anti-Semitic. It surprised pollsters in April by winning 18 percent of the first round vote in the voting for president, which was won in the second round by Socialist Francois Hollande, ousting Nicolas Sarkozy.

Marine Le Pen has been trying to change the image of the party since she took over the reins from her father, Jean-Marie.

The concert in Israel was not the first time Madonna has used the swastika image, and she also has angered Catholics by showing pictures of Pope Benedict, who was pictured in her concert in Paris, along with that of U.S. Republican Sarah Palin.